BARRINGTON - As the Barrington Town Council discusses banning plastic bags, the local Shaw’s Supermarket announced that it will no longer provide plastic bags to customers at its Barrington store.

On Wednesday evening, the Barrington Town Council held a meeting to discuss the proposed ban on plastic checkout bags in town.

At the meeting, Shaw’s Supermarket spokesman Steven Sylven announced that the store would no longer provide plastic bags at its Barrington location.

“We applaud Shaw’s for taking initiative on this issue,” Channing Jones, program associate with advocacy group Environment Rhode Island said in a statement.

“The public voice in Barrington is clear. Both businesses and residents understand that, to protect the Bay for ourselves and future generations, we need to stop using disposable plastic grocery bags,” added Jones. “A ban on plastic checkout bags in Barrington would eliminate this source of marine debris from the town.”

At its July 30 meeting, the town council voted 3-2 to draft an ordinance to ban the distribution of plastic shopping bags in town.

Once drafted, the town council will introduce the ordinate at its September meeting before a public hearing in October. If enacted, the ordinance would ban the distribution of disposable plastic checkout bags at the point of sale.

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